Groundwater Protection Overlay District
602.1. Establishment of district.
There is hereby established a Groundwater Protection Overlay District (GPOD) which shall be the area defined as lots of record which are indicated as the GPOD on the official zoning map of the Town of South Kingstown. The GPOD is superimposed over any other zoning district established by this ordinance. The regulations imposed by the GPOD shall apply in addition to the regulations of the underlying zoning district. In the event of a conflict or inconsistency between the regulations imposed by the GPOD and those imposed by the underlying zoning district, the regulations imposed by the GPOD shall govern.
602.2. Purposes.
The purposes of this section are to protect, preserve and maintain the quality and supply of certain groundwater reservoirs in the town through regulation of land use and certain activities in the areas over the groundwater reservoirs and critical portions of their groundwater recharge area. It is further the intent of this section to permit the use of land within the GPOD for agricultural purposes, and to encourage the use of farmland in a manner which is consistent with protection of surface and groundwater resources.
602.3. Delineation of districts.
The Groundwater Protection Overlay District is intended to regulate uses within the following areas:
A. Groundwater reservoirs are the highest yielding portions of the state's stratified drift aquifers (saturated thickness greater than forty (40) feet and transmissivity greater than four thousand (4,000) feet squared per day) that are capable of serving as a significant source of public supply; and
B. Critical portions of the recharge areas to the above groundwater reservoirs, as defined by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) as groundwater classified as GAA; and that portion of the Beaver-Pasquiset recharge area within South Kingstown; and
C. Area adjacent to Factory Pond defined by RIDEM as the area of contribution to existing public water supplies.
602.4. References.
Identification of areas within the GPOD have been made by reference to maps and studies prepared by the following:
A. Ground-Water Resources of the Kingston Quadrangle, Rhode Island, by the Rhode Island Development Council, Geological Bulletin No. 9, 1956.
B. Availability of Ground Water, Upper Pawcatuck River Basin, Rhode Island, Geological Survey Water-Supply Paper 1821, prepared in cooperation with the Rhode Island Development Council and the Rhode Island Water Resources Coordinating Board, 1966.
C. Groundwater Quality Regulations, Materials Used in the Development of the Rhode Island Dem Groundwater Regulations, pursuant to G.L. 1956, Chs. 46-12, 46-13.1, 42-17.1 and 42-35.
D. Hydrology, Water Quality, and Groundwater Development Alternatives in the Chipuxet Groundwater Reservoir, R.I., U.S.G.S. Water Resources Investigation Report 84-4254. by Herbert E. Johnston and David C. Dickerman, 1985.
602.5. Permitted and prohibited uses.
A. All uses indicated in section 301 as permitted uses (Y) and special permit uses (S) in the underlying zoning district are permitted or conditionally permitted in the Groundwater Protection Overlay District, with the exception of prohibited uses and activities as further provided in subsection B., below. Also permitted are uses or structures accessory to any permitted use.
B. The following principal uses and activities are prohibited in the GPOD:
1. Any use prohibited (N) in the underlying zoning districts;
2. General automotive service and repair shops, including repair to motorcycle, marine, aircraft, recreational vehicles, farm or lawn mowing equipment, or other similar vehicles and equipment. Included among these uses are establishments which sell, store, lease or rent such equipment and which include service and repair as accessory activities. Noncommercial repair work, or repair work incidental to a permitted use, is not prohibited.
3. Gasoline service stations (minor repairs only);
4. Automobile body shops;
5. Lawn and garden supply stores;
6. Welding shops, sheet metal shops, machine shops;
7. Automobile junk yards, junk and salvage yards of any type;
8. Fuel dealers, oil and bottled gas sales and service, and open lot storage of such fuels;
9. Metal plating, finishing and polishing, including jewelry manufacturing;
10. Dry cleaning plant (not including pick-up);
11. Beautician, barber or cosmetologist, except if serviced by public sewers;
12. Commercial wood preserving and furniture painting or refinishing;
13. On site photographic processing or printing;
14. Incinerators, sanitary landfill sites, solid waste disposal facilities, solid waste transfer stations, resource recovery or recycling facilities, injection wells, and hazardous waste management facilities;
15. Land disposal of septage or sewage sludge, including composted industrial sludge. Not prohibited is the application of wastewater treatment facility composted sludge, applied according to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management "Rules and Regulations Pertaining to the Treatment, Disposal, Utilization, and Transportation of Wastewater Treatment Facility Sludge," 1991.
16. All uses which involve the use, storage or generation of hazardous or toxic waste or materials or other toxic pollutants as defined herein. Provided, however, that minor or insignificant quantities of such materials may be stored on the premises of any lawful use, if, in the opinion of the Building Official, the presence of such substance does not constitute a potential for degradation of surface or groundwater resources in the area and such substance is contained in a suitable storage area. In making a determination of the presence of significant quantities of such materials, the building official shall obtain the written opinions of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) Division of Air and Hazardous Materials, the Rhode Island DEM Division of Agriculture, or the Rhode Island Pesticide Coordinator, as applicable. Insignificant quantities of hazardous materials may be construed as that which is necessary for the operation of a farm, residence, office, or business including the operation of equipment, vehicles or other mechanical systems necessary for the operation of a permitted use;
17. Underground storage tanks as defined in article 12 are prohibited. However, storage tanks used for storing home heating oil (No. 2 fuel oil) and serving a one- or two-household dwelling are permitted if the following conditions are met:
(a) The tank capacity does not exceed three hundred (300) gallons (per dwelling unit); and
(b) The tank is located in a basement or cellar, and is above the surface of the basement floor and the basement floor is constructed of concrete or contains a membrane liner capable of containing spills; or the tank is located above ground or in a basement having a dirt floor provided the following criteria are met:
(1) Provision is made to protect the tank from the elements;
(2) Rust-proofing is applied to all tank surfaces;
(3) The tank shall be securely anchored; and
(4) The tank shall be placed onto a concrete foundation capable of supporting the tank, which foundation must be larger than the size of the tank in length and width to prevent leaks onto pervious surfaces.
All storage tanks of three hundred (300) gallons capacity or greater and which are located above ground shall be governed by the provisions of subsection 602.6.B. Above ground storage tanks which exceed ten thousand (10,000) gallons per lot are permitted only by the granting of a special use permit by the zoning board of review. In reviewing said special use permit the zoning board shall require an applicant to submit a detailed report by a qualified specialist on the design and construction of storage tanks and containment devices, and shall consider the potential impact on groundwater in the event of leaks, spills, fires, maintenance, deliveries and other such activities and events;
18. Storage of road salt and deicing materials which are not covered by a roof and located on an impermeable base;
19. The parking of vehicles for the storage or delivery of fuel oil or other hazardous or toxic materials for a period exceeding two (2) hours in any twenty-four-hour period. This shall not prohibit the use of vehicles for delivery of fuels or for application of fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides to any use permitted by this ordinance;
20. Vehicle washing shop (including automatic);
21. Motor freight terminal;
22. Fish hatcheries;
23. Textile Mill Products Manufacturing, use code 72, except assembly of finished textile products.
602.6. Site design standards.
The following site design and construction standards shall be required for all new and substantially reconstructed uses, other than one- or two-household residential uses within the GPOD, established after the effective date of this article. "Substantial reconstruction" shall mean the improvement, alteration or replacement of more than thirty (30) percent of the floor area or land area of the existing use. Site design and construction standards shall follow, where applicable, the recommendations and guidelines as provided in the following documents: the Rhode Island Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook, 1989, as amended; the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management's Recommendations of the Stormwater Management and Erosion Control Committee Regarding the Development and Implementation of Technical Guidelines for Stormwater Management, 1988, as amended; and Controlling Urban Runoff: A Practical Manual for Planning and Designing Urban B.M.P.s, by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, 1987, as amended.
A. Storage of hazardous or toxic waste or materials, where permitted, shall be located within a building having roofing, walls, and floor(s) constructed of such materials as to render said building weather tight, so as to prevent leakage of such products or materials into or onto the ground.
B. Storage tanks for petroleum products or hazardous or toxic materials excluding portable fuel tanks for farm uses may be located outdoors provided they are located within a containment structure that has an impermeable base and surrounding dike. Such base and dikes shall be constructed of material which is both impermeable and compatible with the material being contained. At minimum, the structure shall be designed to contain one hundred ten (110) percent of total tank capacity. Such containment structures shall be covered to protect the tanks and prevent accumulation of precipitation within the dike. Where roofing is not practical, the containment structure shall be designed with an additional capacity sufficient to contain precipitation from a twenty-five-year twenty-four-hour rainfall event. Runoff from the containment shall be controlled by means of pumps, siphons or piping designed to eliminate discharge of contaminated water into the environment in the event of a spill, or have a drain valve which will allow clear stormwater to be manually released as needed.
C. Interior floor drains designed to permit fluid from any interior space to be discharged into or onto the ground shall be prohibited. Provided, however, that such interior floor drains may be permitted if designed to empty into an aboveground storage tank, capable of completely containing anticipated flows. Such tanks, if provided, shall also be subject to containment provisions specified in subsection 602.5.B.17., above.
D. Dumpsters which are used to store solid wastes shall be covered or located within a roofed area and have drain plugs intact. No washing or rinsing of dumpsters on-site shall occur.
E. Rainwater collected upon permanent roofing over one thousand five hundred (1,500) square feet in total area per lot shall be directed into dry wells, injection wells, or underground leaching galleys or otherwise diverted to a permeable ground surface, so as to encourage recharge of the ground water. Provided, however, that such rainwater shall not be mixed with stormwater runoff from any parking area, roadway, or area subject to contamination from any hazardous or toxic waste or material or petroleum product prior to discharge into or onto the ground.
F. Stormwater runoff from paved parking lots, public and private streets, loading areas, storage and operating areas, and other impervious surfaces subject to contamination from road deicing materials or petroleum products, shall be:
1. Collected and diverted through an oil/water separator prior to discharge to the environment; and/or
2. Collected and discharged into "wet" stormwater detention basins capable of achieving water quality enhancement of the runoff; and/or
3. Collected and discharged into extended detention dry basins; and/or
4. Diverted toward vegetated filter strips, swales, or riprap lined channels; and/or
5. Diverted into sand bed filters; and/or
6. Discharged or diverted to other stormwater management facility(s) designed to attenuate runoff and provide pollutant removal capabilities.
The procedure for review of stormwater runoff controls shall be as specified in subsection 505.1 of this ordinance; provided, however, that said site plans shall also be submitted to the conservation commission for their site review and advisory opinion. The planning board shall have the authority to approve the design of all such stormwater runoff controls required under this section.
The above stormwater management requirements shall incorporate best management practices, as that term is used in "Controlling Urban Runoff: A Practical Manual for Planning and Designing Urban B.M.P.s," by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, 1987, as amended, and be designed to be effective in pollutant removal sufficient to minimize harmful impacts to groundwater and surface water resources. They shall be commensurate with the size and nature of the proposed use; provided, however, that the following shall not be required to provide said stormwater management facilities:
(a) Single- or two-household residential uses on a single lot; and
(b) Streets serving a residential compound or minor subdivision approved by the planning board.
G. Garbage disposal systems (in sinks) shall be prohibited in areas not serviced by public sewers.
H. At least twenty (20) percent of the area of each lot shall be covered with existing or introduced vegetation.
I. Commercial earth removal, as defined in section 506 of this ordinance, excluding construction necessary for new farm ponds, new drainage structures, and new farm roads, shall be subject to the following restrictions in the GPOD:
1. A minimum separation distance of three (3) feet between the bottom of the excavation and the seasonal high water table, as verified by RIDEM, shall be maintained;
2. The installation and regular maintenance of permanent soil erosion and sediment control measures, as outlined in the Rhode Island Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Handbook, 1989, as revised, shall be required, including permanent revegetation of the land surface upon cessation of earth removal operations; and
3. The provisions of items 1. and 2. of this subsection as set forth above shall also be deemed to apply to earth removal activities conducted as part of an approved subdivision.
J. Any use which would utilize an individual sewage disposal system, or multiple systems, serving the same use, or combination of uses on a lot for which the total maximum daily design sewage flow exceeds two thousand (2,000) gallons per day shall be permitted, only upon the granting of a special use permit for such ISDS by the zoning board of review. In reviewing said special use permit the zoning board shall require an applicant to submit a detailed report by a qualified specialist on the present water quality conditions and the potential impact to ground and surface waters from the proposed use, including the cumulative impacts of sewage discharge over an extended period of time.
602.7. Maintenance of facilities.
All facilities constructed in accordance with subsection 602.6 shall be maintained by the owner so as to assure their ability to function as designed. Failure to properly maintain said facilities shall constitute a violation of this ordinance, and is subject to enforcement action by the town as provided in article 9. As a condition of granting a building permit for any such facility, the building official is empowered to enter onto the premises in order to inspect said facilities for the purpose of determining their functionality.